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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25946062">Love Unconditional</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashkela/pseuds/Ashkela'>Ashkela</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Wayhaught Family [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Wynonna Earp (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adoption, F/F, F/M, Future Fic, Gen, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:01:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,128</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25946062</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashkela/pseuds/Ashkela</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This entire series came about because of an offhand reference I made when talking to @cleekers on Twitter. But mentioning to my girlfriend that I knew about the four Haught children led immediately into planning for this entry. Please, if this is in ANY way problematic in how I handled it, let me know. </p>
<p>It's fewer than 20 minutes before 4x04 airs, but I spent most of the day getting this one down. I hope you like it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jeremy Chetri/Robin Jett, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught, Wynonna Earp/Doc Holliday</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Wayhaught Family [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861741</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Love Unconditional</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When 13 year old Alice Michelle Holliday-Earp came running into the Purgatory Sheriff’s Department shortly after the end of school shouting for her aunt, the sheriff moved faster than the last time Waverly had informed her that all three of their children were out for the night and would she like to see how well the Blue Devils uniform still fit. “Aunt Nicole I need your help! It’s Taylor!”</p>
<p>Taylor Loblaw and Alice had been friends for nearly their entire lives at this point. What had begun as an affinity between toddlers at Nicole and Waverly’s wedding reception had long ago morphed into the bond of best friends that was so tight that most people assumed them to be siblings. Where one was, the other followed right behind. The fact that Taylor was not with Alice spoke volumes, even more than the words coming from the young teenager’s mouth. </p>
<p>Dark hair, unruly at the best of times, but now windswept, as well as tangled from having small hands run through it repeatedly, was all Nicole could see as her niece clung to her and sobbed. The words came rapidly, muffled against a chest that had frankly, been covered in tears far too many times in the distant past, though rarely in the last several years. “You have to help Taylor, Aunt Nicole. Bunny’s gonna… Bunny’s gonna MAKE THEM GO AWAY!” The young girl broke into fresh wails as the terrible truth was spoken. </p>
<p>Nicole had seen this coming. They all had. And because of it, the entire clan living at the Homestead already had discussed logistics if it would become necessary. Shuffling the crying girl along with her down the hall to the break room where she knew she had some treats hidden for just such an occasion, she pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed. <br/>“Wynonna? Yeah, no I’ve got her. No clue… Because she hasn’t told me yet! Okay, hold on.” She gently shook Alice to get her attention. “Hey, hey Alice. Calm down, little one. I’ve got you. Where’s Taylor? What happened with Bunny? Specifically, I mean. I know what’s going on.”</p>
<p>*******</p>
<p>Taylor Loblaw had been spending time at the Earp Homestead for most of their lives, surrounded by acceptance and love. When they’d come to their aunts – because blood or not, the Haughts counted Taylor as family, as did all the other adults on the property – and said that they’d realized that they were non-binary, the change in pronoun usage was instantaneous. Everyone had forgotten at least once, because no one was perfect, but Taylor’s face was never allowed to fall for even a second before someone else present was correcting the person making the error. </p>
<p>Taylor had chosen to keep their name, expressing joy at the fact that their mother’s attempt at using pop culture to decide their name had inadvertently given them a truly gender neutral name. At first, they had only chosen to speak their truth while with the extended Earp clan, judging themselves safe to explore and get the feel for their new identity. But over the last several weeks, it had become more and more obvious to the adults witnessing this change that something was going to come to a head.</p>
<p>Wynonna had been the first to bring it up at an impromptu gathering of all the adults one night after the children had all gone to sleep. “Bunny’s not gonna like this, Red. She already hates how much time Taylor spends over here. You know she’s gonna try and blame this on all of us.” The years had tempered her drinking, but no one begrudged the bottle or shot glasses being passed around as they sat together at the table. </p>
<p>“I do believe that you are right, though it still confuses me as to how she would come to that conclusion,” Doc responded, echoing a sentiment oft commented on when anyone conflated exposure to non-heteronormativity with a person themselves not being cis and straight. “No one in our family uses these different pronouns. We have merely adjusted our terminology to better accommodate Alice’s friend.” </p>
<p>After all this time, no one was surprised that Doc had no problem with making the change. He had embraced the 21st century entirely, even loaning the two queer couples Charlene for decorating for Purgatory Pride for several years running. He’d had several questions when Taylor brought up the change, but he’d bonded with the ‘young sprite’ as he tended to call them when they were very small and both he and Taylor had felt comfortable to discuss things so that he could understand as well as merely accept.<br/>“People like Bunny Loblaw believe that anyone who isn’t straight and cis have an agenda that is designed around forcing people to be things other than those two things, Doc,” Waverly answered, rubbing her temples in frustration. “When in reality it’s people like her with the agenda. For the most part, we all just want to live our lives in peace. Especially those of us here at the Homestead.”</p>
<p>“In short, Bunny sucks and she’s gonna ruin our Taylor if we don’t keep them safe,” Wynonna summed up brusquely. “Sheriff, what are the legalities here? Can she kick them out? Send them to therapy to fix them, any of that shit?”</p>
<p>“Well, conversion therapy, no,” Nicole said, giving a small smile at the one happy fact. “She can’t force them to be something they aren’t. As for kicking them out, we get into a grey area. Honestly, I think the best way to handle it would be to take them in ourselves. Taylor is 12. They get some say in where they live. If we tell Bunny that we’ll handle it quietly rather than making a big splash about it, she might be embarrassed and shamed into turning over custody to us.”</p>
<p>“Which, ‘us’, though?” Jeremy piped up. He and Robin, as the only technical non-parents to date, had been mostly sitting quietly and watching the exchanges go on. “Someone would have to have the actual custody and get certified as a foster parent, I would assume. Or are we just going for full on adoption? And again, which ‘us’ would do the adopting?” He glanced at his husband, getting a silent nod. “I think we’re happy to keep being their uncles, but we wouldn’t be able to handle a 12 year old as our first official child.” Robin murmured his agreement, running his hand down Jeremy’s back in assurance.</p>
<p>The discussion as to who would be willing to care for Taylor as primary parental figures continued around the table for over an hour. There were good reasons why either Wynonna and Doc or Waverly and Nicole should or should not take on the responsibility, but ultimately it was a quiet statement from Robin that brought them all to a standstill.</p>
<p>“I think you have to ask yourselves if it’s better or worse for Alice and Taylor to start living together now as they move into puberty before Taylor realizes just how they feel about Alice because I’m pretty sure that the feeling is going to be mutual.”</p>
<p>The stunned silence that followed this revelation lasted for nearly 30 seconds. Each of the other adults around the table opened their mouth to respond in some way, but would just as quickly shut it. It would have been comical, if they weren’t all discussing the future of not one, but now two of the children in the family. </p>
<p>While each of the three married couples had one partner who was closest to being a house spouse, Robin had always been the one most likely to be at home when the children were arriving back from school and through the late afternoons. Thus, he’d had the most opportunity over the years to observe all of the children as they grew up together. And at some point, he had noticed that Taylor looked at Alice the way that he remembered looking at Jeremy on their first meeting. The way that Doc and Nicole tended to look at their own wives when they were just being such… Earps. </p>
<p>Taylor might have been nearly a year younger than their best friend, but they’d shared a class at school and a bed for sleepovers for their whole lives. And when Taylor started to hit puberty just a tad before Alice, they had gone all heart-eyes for their best friend in the worst of ways. Alice, so far as Robin could determine, had not yet noticed how her best friend looked at her. He hoped that his guesses were right and that she would return their affection, but that definitely would make life awkward if they were being raised as siblings.</p>
<p>Wynonna found her voice first. “Well, that’s a whole new barrel of monkeys. Dammit, Jett, you couldn’t have told us about this sooner?” As the younger man opened his mouth to respond and his husband also got a hard look on his face, she continued, holding a hand up to stall them both. “I know, I know. We keep the kids’ secrets unless it’s a danger to themselves or to the family. And until they came out to us as non-binary, Taylor falling for Alice would have just been something cute we all talked about while we waited. Alice could certainly do worse.”</p>
<p>“Of course. Taylor is a lovely…” Doc paused, obviously searching for a word other than the gendered one he had been going to use. “They are a lovely person and I have no opposition to their courting of our child. Aside from the fact, of course, that they are both so young.”</p>
<p>“No shit, Doc. Alice doesn’t need to be dating at 13. Fuck’s sake. Okay,  yeah. Haughts, I think you’re on tap here. You’re awful quiet, Baby girl. What are you thinking?” Wynonna looked at her sister, who was absently scratching at something on the tablecloth.</p>
<p>“Taylor is going to need a home.” She let the statement stand for a moment. “When Bunny finds out, she’s going to make trouble and if we plan it all out first, we can make it go away faster.” Waverly nodded to herself, letting the idea of having four children, including another near-teenager, wend its way through her psyche. </p>
<p>The twins rarely spent time in their own rooms, preferring to share a bed most nights. Gretta had counseled their mothers to not discourage it so long as the girls got along. “Seven years old and sharing everything, including a bed, with your twin is different from being teenagers and never having any other friends,” she had said. “Don’t demand it of them, though,” she’d admonished. “Nothing makes identical twins more likely to do something drastic to differentiate themselves than being lumped together for all things.”<br/>So while Katie and Randi – who usually preferred RJ – had their own rooms, Waverly was relatively sure that they wouldn’t mind officially sharing one so that Taylor, who had always been a favorite older sibling anyway, could have their own room. By the time the girls themselves would be reaching puberty and their teen years, Taylor would likely be heading for college. And frankly, if they were with Alice, by that time they’d likely be practically sharing her room anyway, she realized.</p>
<p>She relayed this information out loud as she started scribbling down lists of things needed in the notebook she’d brought to the family meeting. It was only when the room stayed silent after she finished speaking and continued writing that she stopped and glanced up. Nicole was watching her, a fond smile that always appeared when observing the small, dark, and feisty half of their marriage. </p>
<p>The rest of the family stared. “Um, Baby girl, you might wanna ask Haught if she wants a fourth kid before you start moving the other ones around.” </p>
<p>“I don’t need to ask her, Wynonna,” she told her big sister, returning to her list-making. “It isn’t a question of whether or not we do it. It’s just a matter of how. Right, baby?” </p>
<p>“Right, Waves,” Nicole answered. “Long story short, we’ve talked about taking in a queer kid without a home for years, Wynonna. I’ll admit I didn’t think it was going to be Taylor, and having to navigate Taylor and Alice potentially dating was nowhere on my radar, but she’s not making assumptions.”</p>
<p>*******</p>
<p>And that had been that. The month since Taylor had come to their aunts had been mostly quiet around the Homestead. Everyone hoped that Bunny would come through in the end when she found out about her child, but in the meantime, Waverly had discreetly been paying attention to Taylor’s preferences for things and putting aside funds to get all new furniture for them, as well as a set of bunkbeds with a larger lower bed so the twins would be able to sleep separately, but not have to as they grew. </p>
<p>But now the time had come. Nicole finished up the call to her best friend, merely saying, “Get everyone to the Homestead and I swear to God, Wynonna do NOT have a drink yet. We might need to deal with Child Custody and we need to make sure the place is good to go.”</p>
<p>“No shit, Haught-shot. This isn’t the usual shit-show. This is our kids.” The line went dead, the background noise from Wynonna’s truck cutting out abruptly as she hung up.</p>
<p>Taking a deep breath, Nicole spoke again. “Okay, your mom is getting everyone to the Homestead. Tell me where Bunny and Taylor are and what makes you think she’s going to make them go away?” She placed an arm around her niece. “Actually, wait a sec.” She stepped over to the desk, letting the officer on duty know that she was leaving. “Okay, let’s go. You can talk on the way. Where are we going?”</p>
<p>Scrubbing at her eyes, Alice spoke through her tears. “They weren’t at school today and when I went over there after we got out, she wouldn’t let me in and said that…” she sniffed, valiantly trying to maintain composure as they climbed into the police vehicle and strapped themselves in, “that I was a bad influence on her child and that she wouldn’t let me bring them any more harm. But Aunt Nicole, she was using Taylor’s full name their old pronouns and they don’t LIKE their middle name because it’s so gendered and why can’t she just use what they want? I thought the world was past all that now.”</p>
<p>The words cut through Nicole like a knife. She hated seeing any of the kids in the family – really any people, but especially their family – have to deal with this kind of hatred still. “I know, little bit, I know. Bunny is a holdout in a game that she’s long ago lost. But you’ve got your whole family on your side, and so does Taylor. We’ll protect them, I promise.” She silently prayed to a God she didn’t believe in that she was telling the truth. </p>
<p>As they pulled up in front of the home of Bunny and Taylor Loblaw, shouting could be heard from inside. This only worked to the sheriff’s favor. A domestic disturbance could create a lot of paperwork and embarrassment and the aim was now to head it all off at the pass. Brushing her long red hair behind her ear, she looked at her niece. “You and me, kid. We got a shorthand. You trust me?” The dark head nodded. “I need you to stay here so I only have one kid to keep safe. I promise you we are not leaving this house without Taylor sitting right next to you if there is ANYTHING I can do about it, okay?” Another nod. “Good girl. You call your Aunt Waverly and get her up to date and stay. Here. Understand?”</p>
<p>A shaky breath. “I understand. Call Aunt Waves, stay put. You’ll bring Taylor. Got it.” </p>
<p>“That’s why you’re my favorite. Don’t tell the others,” Nicole whispered conspiratorially. The teen giggled. “Thatagirl. I’ll be back soon.” Having faith that these instructions would will out over teenaged impulses, at least when her best friend was at stake, Nicole left the young girl with her cell phone, already keying in the top speed dial. </p>
<p>Time had only helped Nicole settle better into her role as Purgatory Sheriff, and she walked up to the Loblaw house with an air of ease that she did not feel. This had the potential to go very badly, very quickly. The sole factor in favor of the success of this mission was as usual, her wife’s planning. Waverly had practically given her a script, based off a lifetime of knowing and despising the woman.</p>
<p>Steeling herself for battle, she rapped on the front door, hands returning to their comfortable place on her belt as she waited. She could hear Bunny shouting as the older woman approached the door. “Alice Earp, you get away from my baby! I swear I’ll… oh, Sheriff.” The tone changed from fury to disdain in a syllable. “I didn’t hit your precious niece, no matter what she may have said. I merely told her she is no longer welcome in my home due to her hellacious influence on my precious Taylor. Why-“</p>
<p>“She didn’t say anything about you hitting her, Bunny, but good to know that I should ask her about that. Domestic violence, especially against children, is very serious, you know.” Brown eyes stared down at the homeowner. “May I come in? You might not want to have this discussion outside, I suspect. Wouldn’t want the neighbors to overhear the domestic issues I’m here about after all.”</p>
<p>Waverly had been right. The moment the neighbors were mentioned, the bottle-blonde hastily beckoned the sheriff inside, shutting the door firmly behind her. She glanced around, having only entered the Loblaw house a couple of times over the years when taking a turn picking up Taylor for a sleepover or the like. She spotted luggage, and a lot of it, sitting in the living room. “Going somewhere Bunny? We’ll be happy to watch Taylor for you if you like. Wouldn’t want them to miss school of course.”</p>
<p>“Those bags are for Taylor, Sheriff. I’m in the process of arranging for-“ Nicole cut her off.</p>
<p>“You aren’t planning on sending your child to a conversion camp, now are you Bunny? I know you can’t afford to pay the fees to put them in boarding school in the middle of the school year.” She held up a hand to stave off the inevitable arguments. “Can it, Bunny. Here’s the deal. Taylor can come to the Homestead and settle in while you make your decisions. Waverly and I are prepared to care for them in the way that you obviously are not – by accepting them for who they are. We can do this informally or formally. I really don’t want to make a big splash and you know that the neighbors are going to notice if I have to make a call to Child Custody to protect your own flesh and blood. Right?”<br/>For once in her life, Bunny kept her mouth shut, nodding silently. “I know you love your child. I also know that you don’t know how to handle the changes in their life right now. And if you just want them to come stay at the Homestead while you sort your shit out, that’s fine. We don’t feel the need to pursue any money or concessions out of you beyond making sure we can sign for them for medical and school things. But…” Here the eyes that had begun to soften returned to cold, brutal efficiency, “if you make a single accusation of anything untoward when you know God damn well that no one in MY household would ever hurt or try to influence that child, I will get it on the front page of the Purgatory Gazette that Bunny Loblaw threw her own child out just because they came out as non-binary.”</p>
<p>“I don’t even know what those words even MEAN, Sheriff Haught.” Nicole did a double take. Bunny took a shaky breath, and continued. “I mean of course I know the words, but what does that mean? It’s been so hard after losing Abraham. He was the one who wanted children, you know. They’re just so… messy. And Taylor never did what I wanted. Can’t you just… can’t you just take h-“</p>
<p>“Them, Bunny. The pronoun you want there is them. The more you try to misgender them, the more I’m going to interrupt you. If you can’t keep from using the right one, just use their name, okay? And what do you mean take them? I hope you don’t think I’m going to take them to a psychiatric hospital or a homeless shelter or some shit like that. What do you mean?” All the adults in the family had agreed that they weren’t going to allow Taylor to be misgendered at all if at all possible, including not by their mother.</p>
<p>“I’ll sign, okay? Saints preserve us, but I’ll sign. Take h… Take Taylor and raise… them… as your child. I can’t handle this stress anymore.” Before Nicole could begin to respond, a choked sob filled the room.</p>
<p>“I don’t have to go? I can… I can go to the Homestead and be with Alice? With you and Aunt Waverly and Aunt Nonna and…” Taylor trailed off as the tears overwhelmed them and they flung themselves into their aunt’s arms. “Please don’t make me go, Aunt ‘Cole. I promise, I’ll do chores and I can sleep on Alice’s floor and I’ll watch the twins and and and” The tears won out.</p>
<p>Nicole wrapped her arms around the child, fingers combing through unruly golden locks, proof positive that Bunny hadn’t always been a bottle blonde. “Shh, Tay, calm down. You’re safe. It’ll be okay, I promise. Grab your backpack and your laptop and go wait in the car with Alice. I’ll be there in a minute.” She pressed a soft kiss to the top of their head.</p>
<p>“Okay,” was all they said before retreating back the way they had come, presumably to fetch their schoolbooks and things. They didn’t even so much as look at their mother.</p>
<p>“If you’re serious, you can come by the station tomorrow and discuss things with Waverly and I. Chrissy is working for Child Custody now, so she can come by to have lunch without arousing suspicions.” Once more, she silently thanked her bride for thinking of everything. “I can’t guarantee no one will find out, and I won’t forbid Taylor from saying anything, but we will handle this as quietly as we can. Take the night to think about it, Bunny. Waverly and I are absolutely willing to adopt Taylor, but this is your only child and you shouldn’t make such a decision rashly.”</p>
<p>The lack of reaction from her child had seemingly startled Bunny. They hadn’t asked her to change her mind or make promises. They’d just automatically gone to the sheriff for love and support, who had opened her arms to give just that. She pursed her lips. “Thank you, Sheriff Haught. I will pray about it tonight, but barring tomorrow coming with an acknowledgement of this being a fit of childish pique brought on by rebelliousness sent by the very devil himself, I will come prepared to sign custody over to you tomorrow morning.”</p>
<p>A small crash came from the direction Taylor had taken. The sound of things being hastily gathered up followed immediately, with the child rushing into the room seconds later. “Really? I can go live with Alice? For good?” </p>
<p>“You can live as mine and Waverly’s child, yes, Tay,” Nicole answered. “But living as our kid is different than being one of the gang for sleepovers. And we’ll talk about all of that later. For now, do you want to say goodbye to your mother?” She was pretty sure she knew the answer, but until the paperwork had been signed, Nicole was taking zero chances and making no assumptions.</p>
<p>“Oh, um… bye Mom. Oh wow, Aunt ‘Cole am I going to have to call you Mama like X and the twins? Because I dunno if I can do that and stuff,” Taylor pivoted, almost seeming to forget the woman who had given birth to them in the light of the very real changes going on in their world.</p>
<p>“We’ll sort it out, kiddo,” was all their new parent said. “Let’s go home.”</p>
<p>*******</p>
<p>One month later, the paperwork was done and dusted. Taylor Haught Earp they were. And Taylor Haught Earp they would stay for the rest of their life.</p>
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